Wright Is Captain Without the 'C'

The Mets Plan to Bestow an Honorary Leadership Title on Their Star 3rd Baseman; Jeter Doesn't Wear the Patch

ENLARGE

Mets third baseman David Wright (5) runs the bases during a spring training workout on Thursday. If named captain, Wright would be the third active player with the title.
Associated Press

By

Jared Diamond

Feb. 24, 2013 7:41 p.m. ET

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla.—David Wright is the Mets' captain. He doesn't need a formal title or a garish "C" sewn onto his uniform to serve that role. He already acts the part as well as anybody in baseball. The long-term contract extension Wright signed this off-season only reinforced the obvious.

Now somebody within the organization feels the need to explore the possibility of making Wright's captaincy official. Manager Terry Collins intimated recently that the team plans to "start that process" of making Wright just the third active captain in baseball, alongside Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter and Chicago White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko.

But if everybody already views Wright as the Mets' captain, the whole exercises raises a simple but rarely considered question: Why even bother?

"He knows he's the guy. He knows he's the man here," Collins said. "This is his team. He's the face of it. He's the captain."

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Let's face it: There are reasons the Mets' executives would want to name Wright captain that have nothing to do with Wright's leadership ability—reasons that have nothing to do with baseball at all.

Making Wright captain would allow the Mets to hold a news conference, jam dozens of television cameras into Citi Field for a formal announcement, and generate some goodwill before what could deteriorate into another losing season. It would allow them to plaster a "C" on Wright's uniform so they could sell replica jerseys and T-shirts.

In the clubhouse, where it matters, naming Wright captain would change nothing. The designation alone wouldn't transform him into a better leader. Keith Hernandez, one of the three captains in Mets history, called it strictly an "honorary position." Collins this spring has sounded generally indifferent to the whole issue. Even Wright acknowledged that while he would be "very proud" of the distinction, it would have little tangible effect on much of anything.

"I don't think anything would change necessarily," Wright said. "I don't think if you have an official title or not, you change the way you go about your business."

Naming Wright captain wouldn't garner any more respect from his teammates, either. They already respect him, and a fancy title wouldn't exactly impress hardened major-league players, especially the older ones. Wright's reputation as "captain" stems from years of leadership by example.

Wright already serves as the organization's ambassador. He reached out to free-agent outfielder Michael Bourn on behalf of the team this off-season in an attempt to convince him to sign with the Mets. The day veteran relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins joined the Mets, Wright sent him a text message that said something along the lines of "welcome to the club, brother. I'm excited to play with you." In his 18-year career spanning nine other teams, Hawkins said only one other player ever did anything like that: "Jeter. Enough said."

In other words, Wright commands respect by his actions, not by a letter on his shirt.

"You don't have to have the 'C' on the jersey to know who the captain is on any team," relief pitcher Brandon Lyon said. "If they want to have the 'C' so the whole world knows who the captain is, that's good."

At this point, it appears that Wright will eventually be named captain, probably before the start of the 2013 season. But maybe there is room for a compromise: The Mets could name Wright captain without adorning his shirt with a "C."

Jeter doesn't wear a "C," he said, because "it's not necessary." Hernandez said if he could do it again, he would have instructed the Mets to refrain from christening him with a "C," calling it "gaudy" and "ostentatious."

The team's marketing department may not like it, but it seems like an appropriate solution. David Wright the unofficial captain never needed a "C" to be the leader before. David Wright the official captain doesn't need one, either.

"I wouldn't think of anyone else in the room that could be captain," Hawkins said. "When you walk in the room, you know that this is his team."

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